Shippensburg University’s field hockey team picked up two home wins this past week, with the No. 2-ranked Raiders beating No. 8 Millersville 1-0 on Tuesday before picking up a nonconference victory over Frostburg State 5-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Tuesday’s contest saw the Raiders getting a hard-fought 1-0 win over Millersville, with the lone goal coming in the second quarter from redshirt freshman Alexa Michielsen, with senior Chloe Prettyman getting the assist. This was Michielsen’s second goal of the season.
The match was even throughout with few scoring chances for both teams, as Millersville only had five shots on goal and the Raiders had four. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Emma Albee earned five saves, picking up her fourth shutout in seven starts.
The Raiders struck first in Saturday’s matchup, with sophomore Agus Garibaldi scoring her sixth goal of the season early in the second quarter. Frostburg State tied it later in the frame, and sophomore Taryn Mayer picked up her fourth goal of the year to make it 2-1 at the half.
The game remained 2-1 entering the fourth quarter, when the Raiders fully took control with three goals in a span of six minutes. Junior Tess Jedeloo scored the first of these, with an assist from sophomore Savannah Silvestre, followed by junior Yasmin De Meyer’s eighth goal of the year. Jedeloo struck again with another goal, her eighth, to make it 5-1. Garibaldi assisted on each of the final two goals.
Shippensburg outshot Frostburg State 28-7 in the game, including 17-4 in the first half. The Bobcats had just five shots on goal for the entire match, with Albee saving four. The Raiders also had a season-high 13 penalty corners but were only able to convert one into a goal.
Analyzig the fourth quarter, head coach Tara Zollinger said, “Our midfield was able to break through their defense and then find the forwards, and I think the forwards finished really well and connected to make three really beautiful goals at the end.”
Garibaldi finished with one goal on five shots with two assists, while Jedeloo had two goals on eight shots. Speaking on the duo, Zollinger said “They have a great connection on the field. When they have vision of each other and we communicate, they’re really unstoppable.”
This week’s field hockey schedule features two more home games for the Raiders, both against ranked foes. No. 5 West Chester faces Shippensburg at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by a match against No. 6 Mansfield at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Saturday’s match will also honor the 2013 national championship field hockey team. Both games will take place at Robb Sports Complex.
Zollinger said the key to good conference play will be “consistency over our basic skills, the ability to play our gameplan with tons of energy and just our competitive spirit. Our conference is so hard and every single game is a battle, so we have to prepare for those matchups and just get ready for the fight that every single game will be from here on out.”
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